Le Tour de Gaule
This year, our school project is the « Tour de Gaule ».
With our pupils, we discover France through comics, famous monuments, poetry, songs, paintings, literature and special events and celebrations.
Now, here are the various subjects we will develop:
● Comics through the french gastronomy with Astérix and Obélix (Oysters, Agen prunes,
the Bouillabaisse, the Bêtises de Cambrai...)
● The models, the paintaings and the photographs of the French famous monuments like the Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame de Paris Cathedrale, The arc de Triomphe, The Normandy Bridge, Mont St.Michel...
● Impressionists with Monet, Seurat, Renoir, Degas and Toulouse-Lautrec in the Orsay museum;
● Famous photographs by Robert Doisneau;
● Humour with the caricature of the Eiffel Tower;
● Collaboration with an architect in order to make models.
● Poetry or humour with :
- The Fables of Jean de la Fontaine like The Fox and the Stork ;
- Le pont Mirabeau by Apollinaire ;
- Chanson d'Automne by Verlaine (Général De Gaulle's Appeal of June 18th)
● Sans dessus-dessous (Upside Down) from Raymond Devos.
● Songs with :
- Yves Montand : A Paris;
- Joe Dassin : Aux Champs Elysées;
- Les Frères Jacques : la confiture (The jam);
● Asterix ' s soundtrack : Le gâteau empoisonné (The poisoned cake) and Quand l'appétit va ,
tout va (good appetite means good health);
● A dance hall song « les guinguettes » : Quand on s'promène au bord de l'eau
(As we walk along the river);
● A cave man's song L'homme de cromagnon with prehistoric paintings (eggs and
pigments) ;
● Christmas carols with Entre le bœuf et l'âne gris (Between the gray ox and ass).
● Special events :
- Religious ceremony for Christmas : songs and school decoration ;
- The Paris universal expositions of 1889 and 1900 ;
- the Tour de France bicycle race in July ;
- The Vincennes and Longchamp horse-racings.
● Famous music :
- XVIIth century
- Couperin with Le Tic-Toc-Choc ou les maillotins.
- XVIIIth century
- Rameau with the contredanse (dance);
- Saint-Saens with Le Carnaval des animaux (The Carnival of the Animals).
● XIXth century
- Debussy with The sea ;
- Satie with his Gymnopedies;
- Bizet with Carmen ;
- Offenbach with Orphée en enfers (Orpheus in the Underworld ) or French Cancan.
● End of the XIXth century and beginning of the XXth century
- Poulenc with “Discours du Général” (The General's Speech) ;
- Ravel's Bolero.
● XXth century
- Sauguet with Coucher de soleil sur l'arc de Triomphe (Sunrise over the Arc de triomphe).
● Children's book writers :
- Pierre Gripari with La Sorcière de la rue Mouffetard (The witch of Mouffetard street) ;
- Raymond Queneau with Zazie dans le métro (Zazie in the underground) ;
- G. Bruno with Le Tour de la France par deux enfants (Two children’s tour of France).
